GameStop Wants to Buy eBay for $56 Billion
In a move that stunned Wall Street and the tech world alike, GameStop has submitted an unsolicited $56 billion offer to acquire eBay — a deal that would be one of the largest in e-commerce history if it ever goes through.
The bid was announced Monday, with eBay confirming it received the proposal and saying it would "carefully review" it. Notably, eBay added that it had "no discussions with or outreach from GameStop" before the offer landed on its doorstep — meaning this is very much a cold approach.
Ryan Cohen's Amazon Problem
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, who became a cult figure among retail investors during the 2021 meme stock frenzy, has been quietly sitting on a mountain of cash since then. The company holds $9.4 billion on its balance sheet — money it plans to put toward the deal — with the rest funded through third-party financing, including up to $20 billion from TD Securities.
Cohen told The Wall Street Journal that his vision is to reshape eBay into a "legit competitor to Amazon," positioning the decades-old marketplace against the e-commerce giant that has dominated the space for years. It's an ambitious framing for a company that most people still associate with secondhand collectibles and last-minute holiday gift searches.
The math still leaves a significant funding gap. GameStop's $9.4 billion in cash plus $20 billion from TD Securities totals roughly $29.4 billion — well short of the $56 billion price tag. The company hasn't disclosed how it plans to bridge the remaining gap, which financial analysts have flagged as a significant question mark hanging over the proposal.
An Unlikely Dealmaker
GameStop has been on an unusual journey over the past several years. Once considered a dying brick-and-mortar retailer in an era of digital downloads, the company became a symbol of retail investor power after a short squeeze sent its stock soaring in early 2021. Since then, Cohen has steered the company away from its retail roots, cutting costs, closing stores, and stockpiling cash — with little clarity on what he intended to do with it.
Now, apparently, this is what.
eBay, for its part, remains a significant player in the online marketplace space. The platform has roughly 132 million active buyers globally and generated over $10 billion in revenue in 2024. But it has struggled to modernize its image and differentiate itself from Amazon and newer entrants like Shopify-powered storefronts.
What Happens Next
EBay's board has signalled it won't rush a response. The company's "careful review" language is standard corporate-speak that could mean anything from a polite rejection to the start of serious negotiations. M&A lawyers and activist investors will be watching closely.
For now, the deal remains speculative — but if Cohen pulls it off, it would mark one of the most improbable corporate transformations in modern retail history: a video game chain turned e-commerce giant.
Source: The Verge
